A Life in Exile

We often say we will never forget certain people, and those close to us remain in our minds and hearts. Still, with time, memories fade, and we struggle to remember a face, name, or voice. Today, we’ll look at just two passages. One calls on God to remember, while the other is a person Jesus tells us will never be forgotten.

Anger can push memories away.

I think we have much to learn from this passage in Exodus 32—not only for what it says about God and his mercy, but also in the way we are reminded to stop and remember before we act inconsistently with our relationships and heritage.

Moses had been up on the mountain for over a month, and in their restlessness and faithlessness, the people started pressuring Aaron for a god they could see and touch, like the gods of Egypt. As a result, they worked together to produce a lifeless calf made out of gold. The anger of the Lord was aroused by their singing and licentious behavior toward this false god. How quickly had they forgotten the God of all the Universe, who brought them out of Egypt. God told Moses to get out of the way, so he could wipe them off the face of the earth. But Moses appealed to the Lord’s character and memory in an effort to save them.

But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—you swore to them by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’” So the Lord relented concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people. (Exodus 32:11-14 CSB)

God would remember the three patriarchs of this chosen people—men who had trusted and remained faithful to the promises the Lord had made them. In remembering them, he withheld his wrath.

How often has anger, even if justified, stirred you into acting against your better judgment or against your own nature? As with the Lord, we sometimes need to stop and remember what our actions are saying about the people we hold dear, promises made to them, or about our own reputations.

A sacrificial act remembered about an unlikely woman

Women were not generally in places of highest standing in first century Palestine. They were expected to be busy in the home as wives and mothers—seen and not heard—as some would say, so when a woman entered a house where Jesus was enjoying a meal with his disciples, heads turned. What was this intrusion?

That’s when the strong, pungent scent overwhelmed their senses. They spoke up in indignation as she opened the contents of an alabaster jar and poured it over the head of their rabbi. It was pure nard, a very expensive perfume—the cost of which, some thought, could have been used to help the poor. Jesus was allowing a woman to break a number of social rules to anoint him. As they exclaimed their displeasure and shock, the Anointed One spoke.

“Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for me. You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body in advance for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” (Mark 14:6-9)

Memory of the act of this woman was worthy of Jesus’ mention because he knew it was the catalyst for his betrayal at the hand of Judas. Already near the breaking point, this extravagant act tipped the scales for Judas to give himself over to Satan’s temptation. No true Messiah would allow a woman to touch him in such a way nor condone the expenditure. He must be exposed.

Yet, this sacrificial act must be remembered for another reason. It would be an insignificant woman who would prepare Jesus for burial. She had acted out of obedience and in worship of the one John had proclaimed as the Lamb of God. Her sacrifice was nothing next to the sacrifice he was prepared to make, and still, he wanted her remembered. As with John the Baptist, this woman had prepared the way of the Lord.

The anger Judas felt over this woman’s extravagant gift had made him forget the history of his people, the words of the prophets about the Messiah, and all that his rabbi had been doing and teaching up until this point. His anger had caused him to forget God and turn his ear to the whispering lies of the enemy.

As we remember this woman, we are encouraged to tell the rest of the story. That is the good news no one should forget.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Friday Focus post, click HERE, or start from the Beginning.